20 Savory Rosh Hashanah Recipes, Because It Ain't All Apples and Honey

Rosh Hashanah isn't necessarily a time for culinary innovation—your family has probably been eating the same things for years. But food is a huge part of the holiday, so it's worth putting some thought into what you make. That could be as simple as a brisket braised to moist, tender perfection or a loaf of eggy homemade challah, but you could try to mix things up—think smoked brisket rather than braised, Tuscan-Jewish fried chicken, or matzo ball soup with a Mexican twist. However you like to eat on Rosh Hashanah, we've got you covered.

Mains

Crown Roast of Lamb With Couscous Stuffing and Pistachio-Mint Sauce

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Lamb is a classic Rosh Hashanah centerpiece, and for the most impressive centerpiece you have to go with crown roast. The roast's shape makes it easy to overcook—the best way to get it right is to start it low and then finish it high to brown it. Serving some sort of stuffing in the roast is a good idea, but be sure to cook it separately so that everything cooks properly.

Sous Vide Leg of Lamb With Mint, Cumin, and Black Mustard

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

While we typically cook meat on the bone when possible, a fatty leg of lamb is better deboned, butterflied, and rolled with flavorful ingredients. In this case we stuff the lamb with black mustard and cumin and top it with a chimichurri made with both of those ingredients plus mint and cilantro. Cooking the lamb sous vide virtually guarantees that it will come out perfect.

Slow-Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb With Garlic, Rosemary, and Lemon

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

A sous vide circulator makes cooking a leg of lamb pretty much foolproof, but you can also get great results with the same reverse sear technique that we use for a crown roast. As with the previous recipe, here we stuff the lamb before cooking—in this case with garlic, shallot, anchovies, rosemary, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes.

Grilled Berbere-Spiced Lamb Chops With Cucumber-Lentil Salad

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

These lamb chops get an East African twist from berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend typically made with ingredients like chili powder, cardamom, and fenugreek. The spice blend gives the chops a bit of a kick, so for balance we pair them with a lentil salad flavored with cooling cucumber and mint.

Jewish-Style Braised Brisket With Onions and Carrots

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

You've probably eaten brisket at many Rosh Hashanah dinners, and most of those briskets have probably been poorly cooked. The lean cut of meat tends to dry out when cooked until tender. Our solution is to braise it in a sealed vessel, then slice it and return to the braising liquid to maximize its juiciness.

Braised Brisket in Apricot and Cranberry Sauce

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Another trick to brisket is to buy the right cut—the fattier brisket point has more flavor and moisture than the leaner flat. Rosh Hashanah is a time to eat sweet foods to ring in a sweet year, so we cook the brisket with dried apricots and cranberries, apricot preserves, and cranberry sauce.

Sous Vide Smoked Brisket

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

If you're comfortable throwing tradition to the wind, consider replacing the braised brisket with a Southern-style one. This recipe lets you recreate a smoked brisket even if it's getting too cold to fire up the smoker—we cook the meat sous vide with pink salt and liquid smoke to simulate the smoking process. You can then finish in a smoker or just use the oven.

Sous Vide Chicken Breast

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

If you're looking for a more humble main course, chicken is a good way to go. Chicken breast has a bad reputation, but cooked sous vide it can become shockingly tender and flavorful. We're fans of the very soft texture you get cooking chicken at 140 to 145°F. That might sound like a dangerously low temperature, but cooking meat at a lower temperature can pasteurize it as effectively as cooking it quickly at a higher one.

Lemon-Marinated Tuscan-Jewish Fried Chicken

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

I had never thought of fried chicken as a traditional Jewish food, but it turns out to be a part of the Tuscan-Jewish culinary canon. The chicken is typically marinated with lemon juice and spices before being fried in olive oil—you can use vegetable oil if you want the citrus to be more pronounced.

Curried Chicken With Israeli Couscous

[Photograph: Yasmin Fahr]

Don't have hours to spend on your Rosh Hashanah spread? This one-pot dinner is worthy of a holiday table but only takes half an hour to put together. We start by poaching chicken breast with curry powder, then cook couscous in the same pot and wilt in chopped Swiss chard.

Whole Roasted Fish With Oregano, Parsley, and Lemon

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Fish heads are a traditional part of the Rosh Hashanah meal, so if you've never tried cooking a whole fish then this is a good time to start. It's easier than you might think—the skin protects the meat and makes it extra tender. The best way to flavor a whole fish is to stuff the body cavity with aromatics—here we go with fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, and lemon.

Whole Roasted Branzino With Tangerine-Fennel Vinaigrette

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

We stuff this fish with rosemary, fennel fronds, and tangerine slices before cooking, but also add a citrusy tangerine-fennel vinaigrette for extra flavor. One of the most intimidating parts of cooking whole fish is knowing how to serve it, but check out our carving guide and you'll be a pro in no time.

Eggplant and Tomato Sauce With Israeli Couscous

[Photograph: Yasmin Fahr]

Vegetarians shouldn't feel left out of the Rosh Hashanah dinner—this easy recipe will satisfy your guests whether or not they eat meat. Tomatoes and eggplant make a sauce for the Israeli couscous and a pinch of turmeric gives the dish a Moroccan flair. Tomato season is sadly behind us, but a 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes will work as a replacement for the fresh ones.

Sides

The Best Matzo Ball Soup

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

People have fierce loyalties when it comes to matzo ball recipes, and our recipe offers different options to cater to every preference. By adjusting the amount of seltzer, baking powder, and/or beaten egg white you can end up with dense sinkers, pillowy floaters, or anything in between.

Masa Ball Soup

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Yes, this recipe was born from a pun but no, that doesn't mean it's anything less than delicious. To give matzo ball soup a Mexican twist we make the dumplings with masa harina para tamales and schmaltz or vegetable oil and float them in chicken broth spiked with jalapeño, lime juice, and cilantro.

The Best Challah

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

It's just not Rosh Hashanah without a loaf of challah. There's a good chance you can find good challah in stores near you, but this recipe is easy enough for even inexperienced bakers and richer than anything you'll find at the local bakery. The hardest part is braiding the dough, but the bread will taste so good that no one is going to mind if it looks a little funny.

Roasted Carrots With Harissa and Crème Fraîche

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Carrots are a symbolic Rosh Hashanah ingredient, and here we roast them with harissa, cumin, and black pepper and serve with crème fraîche. You can buy the crème fraîche from a store, but it's also incredibly easy to make at home—just mix two tablespoons of cultured buttermilk with a pint of cream and let sit at room temperature for 12 hours.

Roasted Carrots With Black Sesame Dressing

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

In this recipe we roast the carrots with nothing more than olive oil, but the dish still has plenty of flavor thanks to a sauce made with earthy and slightly bitter black sesame paste. To get the carrots soft and caramelized without shriveling up too much we blanch them in salted water before roasting.

Beet and Wheat Berry Salad With Pickled Apples and Pecans

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

This make-ahead wheat berry salad combines two different symbolic Rosh Hashanah foods: beets and apples. We use every part of the beets, roasting the bulbs and sautéing the greens. The apples are quick-pickled in white wine vinegar to give the hearty salad a little acidity.

Braised Leeks With Lemon and Parsley

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Leeks are called karsi in Hebrew, similar to the word that means "to cut." Eating leeks, then, is a symbol of cutting the bad people out of our lives. Leeks are also in peak season right about now, and one of our favorite ways to cook them is to cut them in half, brown them on one side, and braise in white wine and chicken broth until tender.

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